The topic of parental and family leave has been in the headlines the past several weeks as President Biden pushes to create a national standard on paid family and sick leave. And a recent social media campaign for #showusyourleave showcased the dismal state of affairs for family leave in the United States. Nine states and the District of Columbia mandate some degree of paid parental leave, but federal laws only guarantee new parents six weeks of unpaid time off. Not all workers qualify, and we were curious: what does teacher parental leave look like? We took an informal poll on social media, and the results are distressing, to say the least. Of the 600+ correspondents, 60 percent stated they get no time off outside of any sick or personal days accrued. 30 percent get between 6-12 weeks off, although most of it is unpaid. And the remaining lucky few (almost all international) get more than 12 weeks off.
Here’s a sampling of teacher parental leave across the different states.
Alabama
“We have to have sick time saved to be paid.”
“12 weeks unpaid. I had disability insurance that I could use for 6 weeks.” —Florence
“Hahahahaha.”
Arizona
“Zero. I had to use all of my sick/personal days to remain on payroll.” —Tucson
“2 weeks.” —Centennial Park
Arkansas
“Zero.”
California
“Zero.”
“No parental leave. Just 5 sick days a school year.” —San Diego
“6 weeks.” —Palm Springs
“I got 60% of my salary for 2 weeks and 55% for 8 weeks.” —Los Angeles
“5 weeks disability.” —San Diego
Colorado
“6 weeks for natural birth, 8 weeks for c-section.” —Thornton
Delaware
“12 weeks.” —Dover
Florida
“None.” —Ft. Lauderdale
“None” —Columbia County
“Zero paid leave.” —Jackson
Georgia
“None. You have to use sick leave.” —Atlanta
“None.” —Waynesboro
Hawaii
“40 days. 20 for family leave of absence + 20 sick days.” —Maui
Idaho
“4 weeks paid.” —Twin Falls
Illinois
“None.” —Bloomington
“Zero days.” —Plainfield
Indiana
“None for foster/adoptive parents.” —Muncie
“6 weeks.”
Iowa
“None.” —Des Moines
“6 weeks.” —Des Moines
Kentucky
“Zero. I think we have to use sick days the whole time.”
Louisiana
“None.” —Baton Rouge
Maryland
“None. There is no paid parental leave.” —Montgomery County
“2 weeks.”
Massachusetts
“Zero. Is paid parental leave even a thing in the education world?” —Boston
Michigan
“6 weeks paid leave.” –Auburn Hills
Minnesota
“None; only my paid sick time.”
“10 days.”
Missouri
“Zero days outside of normal sick time.” —Springfield
“6 weeks.” —St. Louis
“8 weeks.” —Kansas City
Nebraska
“None.” —Ansley
Nevada
“8 weeks CCSD.” —Las Vegas
New Hampshire
“6 weeks for natural birth, 8 weeks for c-section.” —Hollis
New Jersey
“6 weeks maternity and then 12 weeks FMLA.” —East Orange
New York
“8 weeks of my sick days (c-section).” —Galway
“8 weeks.” —NYC
“12 weeks at 65% of salary.” —Rochester
North Carolina
“Zero time. Any time taken was unpaid outside of your sick days.” —Onslow County
North Dakota
“Zero days. We have to use all of our sick days and then unpaid for whatever else we take.”
Ohio
“None, we have to use our sick days.”
“6 weeks paid and 6 weeks unpaid.” —Parma
“Zero” —Cincinnati
Oregon
“Zero weeks.”
“Zero. Had to use short-term disability.”
Pennsylvania
“Whatever sick/personal days you have saved.” —Harrisburg
“None.” —Philadelphia
“6 weeks.” —Pittsburg
South Carolina
“Zero hours.” —Columbia
“Only sick days.” —Myrtle Beach
South Dakota
“I am going to be getting paid because I have enough sick days banked.” —Sioux Falls
Texas
“None.” —Colleyville
“Zero.” —Houston
“Zero.” —San Antonio
“What’s that? We pay for our own disability, and then get paid from that.” —South Central Texas
“6 weeks.” —Corpus Christi
Utah
“None.” —Davis County
“I didn’t get any. It was FMLA unpaid. Still expected to plan and grade without pay.”
Vermont
“I used my sick time, otherwise it wouldn’t get paid.” —Sutton
Virginia
“We only get our sick days and personal days, then we have to go on FMLA.” —Alexandria
Washington
“Zero.” —Seattle
“12 weeks unpaid. No paid requirement from my state.” —Spokane
Wisconsin
“None” —West Allis
“12 weeks unpaid FMLA. Took a few sicks days to cover a little cost.”
Wyoming
“15 days.”
International
Our friends outside of the United States tend to get more time off for parental leave. We aren’t surprised.
“13 weeks.” —Scotland
“16 weeks.” —Spain
“16 weeks.” —Tarragona, Catalonia
“26 weeks.” —New Zealand
“10 months.” —Finland
“50 weeks, almost 100% for the first half and 55% for the rest” —Quebec, Canada
“12 months.” —Canada
“12 months.” —Australia
“1 year.” —Melbourne, Victoria
“18 months.” —Ontario, Canada
“2 years.” —Romania
We would like to hear your thoughts too. Did you get teacher parental leave? Share in the comments below.
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